Howdy RimfireCentral...
Hi Rimfire Central,
Came lookin for info on .17hmrs, specifically semi-auto, cheaper, and or, lighter than my current CZ Varmint .17hmr.
Didn't take long to find this post
. Anyhow, i'm an avid coyote hunter and get after them as much as i can. I typically call for them and hunt with my Tikka T3 Lite in .243, but i also take many in what i call 'acreage country'. My parents have 26 acres in 'acreage country' that routinely has coyote trouble. We used to take em inside 50 yrds with the .22lr, one of my biggest came that way btw...a 38 lb male with a double tap from Dad's old Winchester Model 63 with CCI Stingers, one low just behind front leg and one in the neck. That coyote did a 50 yrd runner before piling up.
Well we've put a bunch more of em down since i got the .17 hmr as the range has been extended and my calling skills have improved.
Before anyone gets worked up...i call this round a 'niche' round for coyote 'pest' control...in an area not condusive to centerfire due to proximity of neighbors etc. Not really a 'hunting' round imo. And it kills them just fine if you know what your limits are...and the rounds limits. I only shoot them standing still and i always go for the largest vitals area(lungs/heart)...because it is the biggest and most reliable kill zone. I do a lot of bowhunting and thats the name of the game. I hit one coyote in the jaw with a .22 going for a head hit and had i gone for lungs he would prolly have been dead within 50 yrds. I'd rather them do a 30-50 yrd runner and die than go for the instant glory and screw it up, but thats me.
So far i'm 100 % on them. The've all been shot between 43(monday night) and 110ish yrds. About half of them have been bang flops, the rest are usually 30 yrd runners with the longest runners not getting further than 50 yrds. I use the .17 grain hornady ammo btw. So now i will describe the performance i've experienced.
First coyote my gun killed was when my buddy bought the gun and he shot one in the liver at approx. 90 yrds, it ran 60 and laid down and died slower than one would like but it was recoverable in a few minutes. I later bought the gun from him and i've had nothing but essentially instant kills...if you call a double lung with runner and instant kill...i do...well maybe its should be more like 'reliable' kills instead. Anyhow, i'll go on...
My first was a 31 lb mature female at 80-90 yrds facing me, i hit her in the neck and all the legs just kicked out and she landed on her bum and fell over(the mate of the 38 lb male i shot with the .22 earlier). Second one, same day btw, was about 100 yrds broadside, perfect behind the shoulder, centered up and down on torso about 3" back from leg. Coyote was on a side hill opposite me and was on his back biting side to side and slid 10' down the hill done. No exit on either. The broadside one was about a 28 lb 2 yr old male and just a pin prick entrance wound and on the opposite side just under the hide was about a 4-5" circle of black jelly, no exit. So his vitals were destroyed about as perfect as can be. I shot another younger dog from an elevated position and placed it somewhat between the shoulderblades but just up a bit towards the neck and it was a bang flop into the ground with the tail spinning. No exit. There's more...
I shot another at 90 yrds quartering away, splashed a bit on the rib opening up an 1 1/2" entrance but still went up into the lungs, that one did about a 50 yrd runner tops, no exit.
I took my girlfriend with me on good friday this year and called in a whopper male, had to be 40 lbs, to 60 yrds and sat down facing me. I center chest shot him and he let out a beller but it faded almost immediatley because he had no lungs, he made it 30 yrds, no exit obviously. Next stand a mile away brought in a pup to 50 yrds where i barked to stop it for the broadside shot, pin prick in and there was sign of a pin prick exit also, coyote did a 30-40 yrd runner. See pics of them both coming up.
Then on monday night this week i called another nice male into about 30 yrds turned and he stopped broadside at 43 yrds to take a double lung and he had an exit on the other side a little bigger than the entrance, he did a 50 yrd runner. Biggest exit i've had has been on the closest coyote on a double lung...and this was no small dog, you'll see. Pics of him coming up too.
All of this done with .17 grain hornady ammo btw, so thought yall would find some of this info useful, and or, interesting? I agree with the guy on 75-125 in the ribcage and getting reliable penetration/expansion etc. and my evidence is showing exits the once the start getting it 50 yrds or less on broadside double lungs. Okay, here come the pics...we'll see how many i can fit in one post i suppose.
Here is the big male from good friday, 40 lb estimate, wait till you see his ole choppers
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90486757.jpg
Here's his choppers
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90486957.jpg
Here is the little pup i called just after him
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90487375.jpg
Here is the nice male i called on monday
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254772.jpg
Here he is again, me setting camera on back of truck using the timer, second try...i smiled this time, ha.
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254889.jpg
I figure him to be about 3 yrs old ish? His choppers are wearing but nothing like the big boy above
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254986.jpg
For the record, i no way intend to start any trouble, just presenting my experience with .17 hmr as a 'niche' 'pest' round for 'acreage' country.
Blake
Currently i'd like to get a lighter, maybe semi-auto and put a red dot such as an eotech for this purpose. I could almost do this with a shotgun but the noise factor and the fact i like to be able to go 100 plus yrds make the .17 hmr still the number one choice for this niche. I don't shoot ground squirrel much anymore with .17hmr because its too expensive so i don't need a reticle to place finely on a tiny rat at 100 yrds etc. A quick handling semi auto with a red dot that's still reasonably accurate for .17 hmr standards(which are high) would prolly fit the bill better i'm thinkin. I'll be searching that out shortly as that's kinda why i joined up.
Moderator's note: Pictures changed to urls. Please read forum rules about posting pictures depicting hunting kills